The Armenians played an important role within the non-Muslim subjects of the Ottoman State and were involved in social and economic life. However, because they did not have a role in the political life, official and unofficial Ottoman chronicles generally stay silence on the Armenians and do not give more information on them.

The Armenians attached to the Gregorian sect of the Christianity were represented by the Armenian Patriarchate that Sultan Mehmet the conqueror founded in Istanbul before the Ottoman State. Their religious lives were organised by the means of the Patriarchate.

The Roman Church made some activities to disseminate the Catholic sect among the Armenians for a long time. In the aftermath of these activities, it has begun to appear some problems between the Gregorian Armenians and those who accepted the Catholic sect. When is reached at the year of 1778, making some difficulties being faced in burial procedures of the dead Catholic Armenians and other matters as excuse, the Catholic Armenians attempted to have an independent Catholic Armenian Patriarchate appointed apart from the existing Gregorian Armenian Patriarchate.

This attempt to appoint a Catholic Armenian Patriarch caused to be prepared a report which contained the general situation of the Armenians in the Ottoman State and the developments on them. In the report, it is dealt with the geography where the Armenians lived in, their short history, the reasons of sectarian conflict among them, and the results of these sectarian conflicts. The prepared report is included in the events of the year AH.1192 / AC.1778 in the second volume of the History of Enverî written by the chronicler Sadullah Enverî [1]. Vâsıf, who re-wrote the events of the period when Enverî wrote on and used his writings, made some additions, and also summed up this report briefly and added some complementary information[2]. Another summary of the report was reflected in the History of Cevdet of Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, who later re-wrote the history of that period in his mentioned work. The parts being reflected in the History of Cevdet of the report were transferred into the PhD thesis of Recep Kılıç, who prepared a detailed doctoral thesis on the religious conflicts among the Armenians[3]. In this paper, without entering the whole historical details of the subject matter[4], we have examined the details of the mentioned report and dealt with the manner that the Ottoman State adopted against this event. We also gave the transcription of the report as an addition.

Enverî recorded a summary of the report entitled “On Prohibiting of the Appointment of the Catholic Patriarch”, which was written by the Foreign Minister Âtıf-zâde Ömer Vâhid Efendi, into his history. In the report, firstly, it is given short and summary information on the history of the Armenians until the attempt of an independent Catholic Armenian Patriarchate, and then on being given a petition by the Catholic Armenians in order to be appointed a Patriarch, and it is evaluated from the Ottoman point of view of the appointment of a Catholic Armenian Patriarch and the possible results of this development.

According to the report, the Armenians who were the cizye-paying subject of the Ottoman State gradually entered under the administration of the Ottoman State as long as its field of domination spread from its foundation. When is reached at the year of 1778, they numbered three hundred thousands[5]. Until the date of AH. 1041/ AC. 1631-1632, which coincided with the reign of Murat IV, the Armenians lived as the members of the same sect, and were far from the problems resulting from the sectarian differences. However, when is come to the mentioned date, the European priests widened their activities among the Armenians, and, inviting secretly the Armenians to their churches, they indoctrinated them with the catholic sect. The fact that the Catholic sect was more liberal in comparison with the Gregorian sect eased to find followers among them. Some easiness in the Catholic sect is as follows: unveiling of women, men’s eating sea animals’ meats during fasting times, even handing over some certificates on being forgiven of the dead as representative of Jesus (PBH). Murat IV was informed that these activities of the Catholic priests caused to quickly spread Catholicism among the Armenians both in Istanbul and in other places. He ordered that such persons who acted so were punished[6]. At the same way, during the viziership of Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha in 1147/1734-1735, a few persons who worked to disseminate the Catholic sect were executed. In addition, the State’s authorities who were aware of such activities weakening the power of the State and causing to damage largely sent confirmative and severe documents to the Armenians Patriarchs. Those documents contained directives which ordered to be applied completely and otherwise informed that they would be punished. According to the general contents of orders, when the Armenian subjects who participated in the European churches and adopted the Catholic sect were heart, they would inform the authorities of those people. It was severely warned that they would be provided to be punished with condemnation to the galleys. It was wanted that the signed petitions from the Armenian Patriarch on being punished of those who acted in contrast of their sects should not be ignored, and were practised. The one of the measures to be taken in order to prevent the entering the Catholic sect and to be also emphasized in the certificates of the Armenians Patriarchs was that they were abandoned alone not being buried in their own sects of the dead of those who adopted the Catholic sect.

In time, the Armenian Patriarchs did not pay attention to prevent the spreading of Catholicism among the Armenians. Therefore, the Catholic priests increased their activities, they went around as groups of three or five persons in villages and towns, and provided to become secretly Catholic of a number of people. In the end, “a large number of deaths” took place in the year of 1192/1788[7]. The Armenian Patriarch wanted that, with the aim of preventing to become Catholic of the members of his own sect, the rule written in his certificates ordering not to be done of the burring procedures of the Armenians who entered the Catholic sect was put into practise. Therefore, the dead of a large number of Catholic Armenians could not bury. Taking an advantage of this situation, the Catholic Armenians, not mentioning because the main reason of not being buried of their dead entered the Catholic sect, asserted that this state was due to the fault of their Patriarch, and applied a petition to the Sultan with a hope of being appointed a separate special Patriarch for them.

The petition presented to the Sultan was sent to the grand viziership office, and was wanted that risks and harms to appear, if the requests are met, were evaluated. Therefore, the foreign minister Âtıf-zâde Ömer Vâhid Efendi wrote a detailed report on the damages for the Ottoman State when a separate Catholic Armenian Patriarch was appointed. The report contained the places that the Armenians lived in, why they were called “Armenians”, their entrances under the administrations of the Seljukids and the Ottomans, works to spread the Catholic sect, the conflicts seen among the Armenians by means of these works and their fort-coming results.

According to the report, the reason of being called “Armenian” of the Armenians is because the Armenia region attached to the Azerbaijan in Persia.The reason of being said “Armenia” of this region is also because the ruler of that area Ermen Bara established it as the capital of government.The Armenians lived in the region of Ruha (Urfa), Antakya, Van, Erzurum and Sivas called “Minor Armenia” and in the Azerbaijan area called “Grand Armenia” under their kings until the year of 1200. After this date, from the reign of the Sultan Gıyâseddîn of the Seljukids who made Konya as capital, the areas where they lived in were gradually captured by the Anatolian Seljukids. Their kings and high-ranking authorities were taken away, and they continued their lives under the Seljukids as non-Muslim subject. When the Ottoman State emerged and gradually widened, this non-Muslim subject entered under their administration and continued their lives within well-fare.As is also explained above, the Armenians were subject to only the Gregorian sect of Christianity until the reign of Murat IV but not other Christian sects. When is reached at the mentioned period, especially in the aftermath of the works of European priests, the conflicts began to appear among the Armenians.Thanks to the measures formerly taken, even if these problems were tried to be solved, overtime the activities increased and social problems appeared within them. Among these main problems are: not eating the meats cut by each other of the members of both two sects, and actions made against one another.

In the report, it is stressed that those who adopted the Catholic sect made intentionally and actually activities against the Ottoman State, and that, in contrast to this, those who stayed in their ancestor’s sect (Gregorian) showed loyalty to the State because they were neutral. The fact that those who adopted the Catholic sect co-operated secretly or openly with Europeans shows large similarities with the development that the Orthodox Russians contacted with the Ottoman Greek subjects who had the same sect during the wars between the Russians and the Ottomans.

The Armenians adopting the Catholic sect hired churches in Austria and Venice; the rich ones sent their children to these churches to complete their educations, those who went to these places also put on hat and wore European dresses. In addition, some other European customs spread among them. In those times, these customs were not practiced within the Armenian society.

Again, because some of those adopting the Catholic sect made the works of buying and selling of precious metal / stones and other goods, they were in touch with the Statesmen. Therefore, it is explained that they obtained the State’s secrets and worked as spy.

After Vâsıf also summarized the information that Enverî recorded in his history, he gives the information on how the Catholic moneychanger and traders cheated the cash moneys of Muslims with a promise of high interest rate. According to this, after the Catholic Armenians who collected a large amount of cashes with a promise of high share of the profits paid the interests of these moneys for a determined period, they transferred these moneys into the European States whom they connected and entered under their protections. When the time of paying back of the moneys collected at this way came, they showed their debts more than their credits by means of promissory notes of debts belonging to unknown persons, that’s they seemed to go bankrupt. In such cases, after they jailed for a few months, by means of the ambassadors of the countries they obtained a protection, sometimes with the assertion of being bankrupt, sometimes too coming to an agreement with the creditors at low amounts, they managed to escape from the creditors. After they saved themselves at this way, they continued their lives comfortably with the yearly interests of the moneys they invested at interest every year in Europe. Vâsıf added this information into his work with the aim to warn somebody who met such developments, and to prevent their being cheated[8]. In addition, it is understood that the inheritances of the dying rich Armenians were captured by the Catholic priests and every year an amount more than one thousand purses was transferred to Europe.

In the final part of the report, it is said that, if it is given an opportunity for those who tried to disseminate the Catholic sect, the whole non-Muslims in Rumelia and Anatolia would enter the Catholic sect, and it is paid attention on the risks that this development would cause to arise.

The report by the foreign minister was presented to the Sultan by the grand vizier. According to his view, the following matters were informed by the grand vizier to the Armenian Patriarch together with a confirmed edict:

For being prevented of those who tried to disseminate the Catholic sect, and being punished of those who continued this activity, it should be informed without rancour with a petition by the Armenian Patriarch who they were.

The Catholic deaths should be buried “in a domineering way” without complaining and in the manner not to violate the interior order.

With this edict, it has been aimed not to have been led to Catholic sayings and activities which violated the interior order of the society, and the attempt to be appointed a separate Catholic Armenian Patriarch was not also realized.

Result

In order to provide the Armenian society with being inclined to them, the Catholic priests who were called European priests by the Ottomans continued secretly the works of Catholicism among the Armenians for a long time. The beginning of negative impacts of these activities on the Armenian society goes back to the period of Murat IV. From this date, the duty of taking preventive measures against those disseminating the Catholic sect within their own society and of informing those working in this direction was given to the Armenians Patriarchs. This state was stressed openly in the imperial certificates of duty given for them.

The Catholicisation works violated the interior peace of the Armenian society and were inclined towards such behaviours as not eating the meats cut by each other, making actions against one another and not participating in each other’s funerals.

The rich Catholic Armenians made activities in the churches that they bought in various places of Europe and educated their children in those places. Such customs as putting a hat and wearing European dresses which were not seen until that time became widespread among the Armenians.

As moneychangers and traders, some of those adopting the Catholic sect were in touch with the Statesmen. Therefore, it is thought that they obtained the State’s secrets and worked as spy, transferring that information into Europe.

Because of being neutral of the Gregorian Armenians, they always stayed loyalty to the Ottoman State, and hoped that it succeeded and beat. In contrast to this, it is understood that the Catholic Armenians worked intentionally and actually for Europeans.

The Greek subject of the Ottomans had the same sect as the Orthodox Russians, and they had cooperated with the Russians against the Ottomans during the Russian-Ottoman war beginning at 1765. In the mentioned report, it has been stressed that this negative cooperation, if the Catholic sect becomes widespread among the Armenians, would be also repeated between the Europeans and the Ottoman Catholic Armenians, and it has been attracted attention that this state would lead to damages for the Ottoman State.

As a result, as the Ottoman State did not intervene into the believes of non-Muslims societies, it took preventive measures against the external interventions in terms of both the social order of the society and its own strategic security.Because it perceived that its own strategic security was closely linked to the fact that each society stayed within its own sect. In spite of this, the Gregorian Armenians could not be far from staying under the external impacts of different sects of their own religion. From the beginning until the 18th century the Armenians were affected by the Catholic sect. As known, they became a target mass of the Protestant Missionaries since the 19th century. In contrast to external impact of every kind, the Turks did not intervene into the religion and sects of the Armenians under their sovereignty at any time. On the contrary, the Turks worked hard to provide them with living within their sect.

Appendix: The Transliteration of the Text Recorded in the History of Enverî of A Report Prepared In 1778 On The Catholicisation Works Of Armenians And Its Results[9].

[1] For the text in hand-writing copies of the report given in transliteration at the end of the paper, see Enverî, Enverî Târîhi, Âtıf Efendi Library, nu. 1829, pp. 123a-125a; Ali Emîrî, Tarih nu. 67, pp. 97b-99a.

[4] On the matter of sectarian conflicts taking place among the Armenians throughout the history, for more detailed information, see Kılıç, ibid.

[5] This number given as “three thousand individuals” in the text is probably calculated according to the cizye-registers.There is no sign on whether women, elderly, and children not being cizye-payers were included into this figure. In my opinion, when these figures are examined by the experts of statistics, it can be estimated on the Armenian population at the beginning of the 20th century. However, another important matter to be paid attention to here is to determine the boundaries of the Ottoman State at that date, and, if there exist the regions being separated from the Ottoman State after that date, the Armenian population living those places must be subtracted from the final estimation.

[6]Vâsıf records that these activities were also one of the reasons of Abaza Pasha’s execution, who was known as the close of Murat IV, following his rebellion. See. Ahmed Vâsıf, Vâsıf Târîhi, Topkapı Sarayı Library, Hazine nu. 1410, p. 79a.

[7] The reason of the deaths not being given their causes in the report was the plague epidemic. See. Kılıç, ibid., p. 139.

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